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They used to be as easy to find as an ATM. We are talking about those blue collection boxes provided by the postal service.

The Washington Post reported this weekend over half of them have been removed over the past two decades.

USPS Previews New 2009 Stamps

Silicon Valley not only lead the way in the trend to stop using an envelope and stamp, it also helped design the technology that made them obsolete.

From East Bay-based Sendmail, an innovator in the basic protocols behind email, to Cisco to Facebook -- let's just say Bay Area engineers are not on the list of favorite peeps for the Postal Service.

Who doesn't send evites instead of invitations and eCards instead of a paper birthday card these days. That doesn't mention the use of email, texting and on line bill pay options.

In the last year alone, the postal service reported its single largest drop-off in mail volume in its history according to The Post. And that downward trend is expected to accelerate in the coming years.

The U.S. Postal Service really doesn't have a choice. They are only removing boxes that collect fewer than 25 pieces of mail a day.

The Postal Service might be one of the few who can't blame the bad economy for their financial troubles. It projects a shortfall of $6 billion in the coming months and may ask congress for emergency funding.

Some communities have risen up to stop the removal of this particular piece of blue metal. The people in a small town in Maine put a snowplow and a backhoe in front of one threatened mail box.